Welcome fantasy fans! If you’re reading this, you’re more than likely keen on the supernatural, the unexplained magic behind our increasingly tech world. Or…mayhaps you love anything with castles, ball gowns and romance. Either way, you’ve come to the right place. Silver Hollow is a place where the mythic and mundane collide, where madness is just another name for honesty and adults can believe in fairy tales again. It also happens to be my first full-length novel.

To quote one of my favorite movies and actors, “One does not simply walk into Mordor.”

In the same vein, you don’t simply create a fantasy story without crafting its legends. This is best illustrated through epic fantasy novels like Game of Thrones. Throughout the ongoing series you are drawn deeper into the stories behind the stories. There is legend layered behind hundreds of years of history. Even contemporary fantasy like Harry Potter is full of the hidden history of this magical world…

It was raining. Everyone was wearing black and it was raining like a typical funeral scene from every movie ever. Amie had put on a yellow dress instead of the black one she had found in Mother’s closet. The bright color clashed with her pale skin, black hair and green eyes but no one would dare point out a fashion misstep today. Not to mention she didn’t feel very yellow today but it was—had been—her mother’s favorite color.

“There was humor and sadness, and intrigue and romance. All in all, this book had everything I wanted, and everything that would make it a good book. . . . I would highly recommend this novel if you are a fan of fantasy worlds.”

Their families were lucky enough to live close to the big city but have enough land to breathe. The twins lived in a ranch styled home on the other side of the fence separating their families’ properties, which connected to a barn in the back field. The Blackbriars owned and bred horses, their property an open field of swaying grasses. Amie’s land was thick with trees most people would cut away. Yet her father, Drustan insisted on keeping the land as-is. The only exception was the garden in the back where he and Amie grew flowers and vegetables together. Since anything techy tended to glitch and break down on them, the garden was a primary source of entertainment and comfort. The garden was where she went after the funeral.

“This is a very good story. I really enjoyed reading it. The different types of magic and such were weaved into the story very well. Great work Jennifer. . . . I would highly recommend this book to other readers.”

Amie was about to turn twenty-eight years old and had not done anything significant in her life. True, she turned her love of words into a career in the past ten years, but she hadn’t written anything profound. A best-selling series of cheesy paranormal romances, coupled with her inheritance allowed her to live in her own studio apartment. The fact she couldn’t get near a computer made her career choice interesting. It was the reason she typed all her manuscripts on a typewriter, why she drove a beat-up seventies truck and currently, why she was mailing her latest notes to her editor, Allison.

“The story is sprinkled with romance and witty comments, many light-hearted moments that are sure to bring a smile to the readers lips. It is definitely worth the read and is a book that I would recommend in the fantasy-romance section now.”

Time seemed to crawl by after that. Faye and Ben danced together beneath the dim golden lantern light and rarely took notice of anyone else. Amie noted the passing of similar sounding Country tunes and wondered how much more she could take of Faye’s guests. Most of them couldn’t remember her name and so gave her superficial warm greetings as they took their dessert and returned to the fold.

As she placed her shoe upon the first rickety metal step, two thick and powerful hands grabbed her from behind, pulling her deeper into the back alley. It happened so quickly she forgot to scream. Amie dropped her purse as her fingers dragged and slipped over the metal grating.

“Let go,” she begged, her voice weaker than she intended. His choking embrace only tightened.

I already have outlined part of the sequel, Blackbriar Cove, with ideas for at least two more books after that. I decided to name this a saga because I see this series going on as long as I have fresh ideas. There is so much I hope to explore in the Borderlands, from other gates around our world to the land across the veil. I would love to still be writing books about Amie & co. ten years from now.

I’ve always been a big fan of nonsense words, like in Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwockypoem. My first edition of Silver Hollow, I let that flight of fancy go to town. It was fun creating nonsense words for my local “hollow folk” and I felt enriched the experience. Plus, it was fun to confuse my main character. Unfortunately I also managed to confuse many a reader not accustomed to such fiddle-faddle. Thankfully, I had the sense to create a glossary for reference…

It is a truth universally acknowledged that an American traveling to England is destined to walk around with stars in her eyes. Americans are suckers for the old country, British accents and actors. My father so-happened to be one of these Brit’s and afternoon teas were bread and butter to me. At least, until I was stabbed, kidnapped and entered another dimension known as the Borderlands. You can enter Silver Hollow, my dad’s ye olde hometown, via the English countryside. Or in my case, jump off a train and have a wizard lead you through with magic. I’ve learned a thing or two since my return to Silver Hollow. Before you visit, you absolutely must abide by the following rules…

I remember reading articles that said Tolkien, when he was writing his Lord of the Rings saga, began with names. A linguist himself, it’s not surprising that he believed that our history can be told through our words and names…

Sometime in 2008 I decided I wanted to branch into original fiction. I knew I could write books and I wanted to write something new for myself and the twins. The first few chapters of Silver Hollow came about one random night of inspiration. I printed out the pages and brought them on a girls trip the twins and I took. They loved the story so much, they begged me to write more. So I suppose the first Silver Hollow was very much a “wish fulfillment” fantasy. The kind of life I wanted to be brave enough to live at the time. When I came back to the story last year to rewrite and expand the first edition, I approached it from a more professional attitude. I wanted to tell a moving and compelling story, to really dive into the way fairy tales and legends impact and shape us, to give these characters voice.

There are a few different genre designations attached to Silver Hollow – from ‘Magical Realism’ (a personal favourite) to Urban Fantasy (another lovely genre to explore) to Fantasy Romance – for readers like myself and others who move in and out of these genres, what can we expect to find which hones in on these three particular ones the most? In essence, how did you bring elements of Magical Realism into an Urban Fantasy experience with overtures of Fantasy Rom?

That’s a very good question! I didn’t originally set out to encompass all those things, but as this new edition grew, so did the themes. For example, the book begins very snugly in the Magical Realism genre. Amie is a normal woman with a normal life, living quietly in a sleepy town in East Texas. The magic appears in little hints until the defining moment that prompts her to action. This is also the point we begin to shift into Urban Fantasy, as Amie is fleeing the people out to kill her. The oddities around her increase as she is rescued by Emrys and led into Silver Hollow. The romance is much stronger in this edition, which I felt appropriate due to Amie’s age and her forgotten past. Perhaps the most fun aspect of Amie’s journey is how she begins in perfectly ordinary circumstances and ends in a fantasy stranger than fiction.

The green eyes staring back from her mirror widened as her scar chose to suddenly ache. A chill lay thick on the new skin, piercing through her supernaturally mended heart. She could almost still feel the cool blade of the knife and smell the pungent stink of her own blood. At the same time, need for the loo, as the Brits called it, finally forced her out of her fortress of solitude. She was grateful for the excuse to move her legs again and leave her morbid musings behind. Unfortunately the toilet was in the next compartment down, and thus far Amie had managed not to run into a single other occupant of this train besides the ticket master. It was an odd train, she had to admit, as she braced against antiquated wood panels and tread thick blue carpet. Like an Agatha Christie novel, the proper setting for a real-life mystery.

What are you working on right now? What can readers look for from you in the next year?

My current work-in-progress is a serialized urban fantasy romance novel called Angel Blue. Angel Blue is the first novel or “season” in an ongoing series titled Seven Deadly Sins. It’s been a passion project of mine the past ten years and was the book which started my writing career. You can learn more on my blog or add it to your Goodreads.

“I thought it was pretty good. I liked Amie from the start and was fascinated with her story. . . . I give Silver Hollow four stars and recommend it to readers who enjoy paranormal romances. Such a beautiful and magical tale.”

“This is certainly an interesting & magical little world. I enjoyed Amie as a character, and it was just as much of an adventure for me as it was for her . . . . I’m excited about this series, and I’m already looking forward to the next book!”

They jumped off the train together, her rescuer pulling her into his side as they hovered in the wind. Amie screeched as her body was left behind in sudden freefall. Time slowed as they flew over a sea of green and heather before gravity rushed to catch up. The Brit wrapped his legs around hers, sandwiching her body and taking the brunt of the impact as they rolled down an endless hillside.

She wondered briefly if this was the end and wasn’t as upset as she should have been. Twenty-eight years and what did she have to show for her life?

“I did, however, get a chance to start this book and I can tell you that I have not wanted to put it down since I started it. In fact, it has been soooo wonderful that I would feel like I’m doing Silverwood a HUGE disservice by not telling you exactly how captivating these first pages have been…”

There were many little moments that I recall from childhood influences, from the children’s author visiting my school, to watching Little Women the first time and wanting to be Jo March. But the defining moment for me happened when I was eight. We had a Polish exchange student live with us for a time and who was like a big sister to me. Before she flew back to Poland, Kaya gave me a fine leather hardback edition of Anne of Green Gables. The book was more difficult to read than anything I’d read so far but I fell in love with the writing and soon devoured everything L.M. Montgomery had written.

“When I picked up this book, I thought it would be a typical fantasy book. I was wrong. Jennifer Silverwood has created a book that has familiar elements but incorporates other stories into hers. . . . This book is full of intrigue, war between ancient legends, romance, and non-graphic violence.”

Synopsis:

"I shouldn't have to tell you this isn't a fairy story..."

After her parents' car crash ten years before, Amie Wentworth trusts books more than people. She may be a writer, but she believes in reality over fiction. She ignores the unexplained mysteries surrounding her, never mind the dreams of a past life, or the fact she can fry technology with a touch. Not even a timely invitation from her long-lost uncle in England gives Amie incentive for anything other than ire.

Until she is stabbed in an alley and brought back to life by a handsome stranger. Soon Amie is dragged into the very sort of tale she is used to selling. To make matters worse, the man who saved her life keeps turning up and her would-be-murderer is still at large.

After crossing the Atlantic to her father’s homeland, she discovers a world beyond imagining. Silver Hollow is a place of ancient traditions and supernatural dangers, where everything is the opposite of what it seems and few escape sane. Faced with an impossible choice, Amie is forced to confront a deadly family legacy while remembering a life she soon wishes to forget.

**Previously published in 2012. This NEW EDITION has been FULLY REVISED AND EXPANDED. The original novel is now no longer available.**

PRIZE PACK #2: 1 winner will receive signed swag (mainly Silver Hollow and Wylder Tales), ebooks of the Wylder Tales Collection, and a free voucher for Bound Beauty to be published later in 2018 (open internationally)

About Jennifer Silverwood

Jennifer Silverwood was raised deep in the heart of Texas and has been spinning yarns a mile high since childhood. In her spare time she reads and writes and tries to sustain her wanderlust, whether it’s the Carpathian Mountains in Transylvania, the highlands of Ecuador or a road trip to the next town. Always on the lookout for her next adventure, in print or reality, she dreams of one day proving to the masses that everything really is better in Texas. She is the author of two series—Heaven’s Edge and Wylder Tales—and the stand-alone titles Stay and Silver Hollow.